
Class &-44 — 

Book • H^£LW^ 



University of the State of New York 



Address 



IN MEMORY OF 






Hon. FRANCIS KERNAN, LL.D 



1816-1892 



Delivered by Regent William H, Watson 



AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE 



REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY. SENATE CHAMBER, 14 DECEMBER , 



895 



ALBANY 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
1893 






FRANCIS KERNAN 
Born 14 January 18 16 Died 8 September 1892 

Elected Regent of the University, 10 February 1870 
Elected United States Senator, 21 January 1875 

»d4 



University of the State of New York 



FRANCIS KERNAN 

Within a very short period this board has been called to 
mourn the death of two of its most respected and illustrious 
members. 

The portals of the grave had scarcely closed upon one of 
the most eminent literary men of our age — the lamented 
and gifted chancellor of the University — ere they again 
opened to receive another of our associates, distinguished 
alike in the forum and at the bar, a leader in one of the 
great political parties of our country, beloved wherever he 
was known, a man of national reputation, both as a statesman 
and a lawyer, who had filled with preeminent ability the most 
elevated positions in professional and civic life. 

Francis Kernan, a name known throughout the length 
and breadth of our country, after 52 years' service at the 
bar, in the early autumn of the year, as of his life, passed 
to his eternal rest. The white snows of winter, not more 
pure than his character and fame, now cover his mortal re- 
mains, but to his colleagues in this board, his memory has 
the fresh verdure of perennial spring. 

Resfent Kernan was the eldest son of General William 
Kernan, who emigrated to this country from Ireland about 
1803. His companion on the voyage to the New World was 
the father of Charles O'Conor. William Kernan landed 
in New York where he remained about two years and then 
removed to Steuben county in this state, to that part of it 
now included in Schuyler county, and purchased a tract of 
wild land in the present town of Tyrone. He soon after- 
ward married Rose Stubbs, also a native of Ireland, who 
came to this country with her parents in 1808 and settled 
near the location of General Kernan's farm. 

F.;74m -Ja93- 



4 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

There, amid the picturesque, rural scenery of western 
New York, so wonderfully diversified by wild mountain, 
placid lake and deep resounding glen, Francis Kernan first 
drew the breath of life on January 14, 18 16, and there im- 
bibed that freedom of thought, that dignity of character and 
intellectual health which left so indelible a mark upon his 
public career in after life. A son of one of its honored pio- 
neers he early learned those habits of self-denial and honest 
labor, which, while they invigorate the body, quicken the 
faculties of the mind and build up manly character. 

Young Kernan remained at home until his 17th year 
and attended the neighboring district school whenever 
he could be spared from the duties of the farm. In 1833 
he went to Georgetown college, in the District of Columbia, 
an excellent educational institution, for which he ever after 
retained the warmest affection. That he was an earnest 
and faithful student during his collegiate course, the speaker 
possesses most convincing proof, in the readiness, aptness, 
and felicity with which he has often heard him quote from 
both Vireil and Horace. 

To Regent Kernan himself, as we shall hereafter see, 
may be fitly applied those beautiful lines from his favorite 
poet, in which, so forcibly inculcating the dignity of virtue 
and describing the only enduring civil merit, he utters the 
lofty sentiment that through all the ages has been and must 
forever be true, that the man of real worth is independent 
of popular favor, and that his happiness does not rest upon 
the capricious breath of popular applause, 

" Virtus, repulsiE nescia sordidac, 
Intaminatis fulget honoribus, 
Ncc sumit aut ponit secures 
Arbitrio popularis auroc." 

In the fall of 1836, Mr Kernan commenced the study of 
his profession in the office of his brother-in-law, Edward 
Quin, in Watkins, at the head of Seneca lake. 

In 1839 nc came to Utica and finished his legal studies in 
the office of Hon. Joshua A. Spencer and was admitted to 



FRANCIS KERNAN 5 

practice in July, 1840. Mr Kernan was ambitious and de 
sirous of trying his fortune in a wider field. After his ad- 
mission to the bar he asked Mr Spencer for a letter of 
recommendation, saying that he proposed to go to some 
western state to locate. " Don't go west. Stay in Utica and 
be my partner," was the prompt response of his preceptor. 
Mr Kernan accepted the proposition and remained the 
partner of this distinguished advocate until 1853, and then 
took his brother-in-law, George E. Quin, into partnership. 
In 1857 William Kernan was admitted to partnership and 
the firm became Kernan, Quin and Kernan. Mr Quin died 
in 1S63. The firm afterward became William and Nicholas 
E. Kernan. John D. Kernan was a member of the firm until 
he was appointed railroad commissioner on the organiza- 
tion of the board of state railroad commissioners. 

Mr Kernan was appointed reporter of the court of ap- 
peals in 1854 and served until 1S57. He was again ten- 
dered the position, but declined on account of the pressure 
of other professional duties. He received this appointment 
from Gov. Seymour, and during his term of service reported 
four volumes of the proceedings of the court. 

In the fall of i860, he was nominated to the state assem- 
bly by the democrats and elected from a district which had 
given a large republican majority the preceding year. 

In the assembly he at once took high rank as a legislator. 
He threw himself into the ranks of the defenders of the 
Union and of the active prosecution of the war, by support- 
ing the war measures of Gov. Morgan, and was appointed 
by the governor a member of the committee for raising 
volunteers in the Oneida congressional district. His duties 
required his active services, which he generously gave. His 
speeches during this period were extremely loyal and patri- 
otic. In a word, he was a "war democrat." 

In 1862 Mr Kernan was elected to congress. He here 
rendered important service as a member of the judiciary 
committee, and was also thoroughly in accord with the 



6 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

national government in its efforts to maintain the integrity 
of the Union. His course was marked by so decided a 
spirit of justice and moderation that he was often consulted 
^ by President Lincoln on matters pertaining to the conduct 
of the war. 

In a debate on the 13th of January, 1863, on the subject of 
confiscation he used the following language, which shows 
his attitude on this very important matter: " I submit that 
the punishment for treason, like the punishment for every 
other crime should fall upon the guilty party only, and that 
we should not seek to affect his innocent children and heirs. 
Take away from the guilty party his life estate, his right to 
dispose of it, but do not take away the right of inheritance 
from the innocent heirs, who will show themselves loyal, 
else they never will have the right to come into court and 
ask to be heard." This measure was passed in the house 
but killed in the senate as being unconstitutional. He was 
instrumental in having the per capita tax on emigrants de- 
clared unconstitutional, and killed the bill which proposed 
to restore the head money paid to ship-owners. He was 
a member of the house of representatives from March 4, 
1863, to March 4, 1865. 

He was a prominent member of the state constitutional 
convention, held in 1867-68. Here his legal abilities were 
displayed to advantage in the framing of many of the most 
important provisions of the new instrument, which will for- 
ever remain as monumental evidence of his thoughtful 
ability. 

As a member of the constitutional convention in 1S67, Mr 
Kernan made an able, earnest, elaborate and most emphatic 
speech, advocating an absolute prohibition of sectarian ap- 
propriations of the public money. It was in part as follows: 

"Sir, the provision tinder consideration, reported by the 
committee o)i finance, by which it is provided that the legisla- 
ture shall not donate any moneys or property of the state to 
any person, association or corporation, is correct a?id just. 




FRANCIS KERNAN 7 

According to the theory of our government, all sects and 
denominations of religion are to have equal rights, and there 
is to be no discrimination in favor of or against any. The 
members of one denomination are not to be taxed to sup- 
port the religious, charitable or educational institutions of 
the other. This is as it should be. The provision re- 
ported by the committee on finance is based upon this 
principle, and will carry it into effect. It cuts all those in- 
stitutions off from the public treasury; it places them, as they 
should be, on an equal footing; it leaves them to be supported 
and stcstained by the charitable contributions of the indi- 
viduals and religious deno?ninations which organize and con- 
trol them. This is in accordance with the principles of our 
government, it is just to all. It will prevent jealousy and 
sectarian bitterness, which are ever to be deplored, from 
springing up between the members of the different religious 
denominations on account of real or fancied inequality in 
the appropriations made to charitable institutions." 

Later he was appointed by Gov. Hoffman to prepare 
amendments to the constitution to submit to the people for 
adoption. The report of the convention was presented to 
the legislature, and most of the amendments proposed were 
submitted to the people and ratified. One which Mr Kernan 
regarded as the most important was not, however, submitted 
to the people by the legislature. It related to the govern- 
ing of cities, and was the result of much study and delibera- 
tion. It provided that in cities having a population of 
20,000 and upwards, the tax payers and only the tax payers 
were to vote for a board of audit. The city could contract 
no debt without the approval of its board of audit, and no 
bills could be paid without its sanction. The board was to 
have no power to order work or expenditures itself, but was 
simply to approve or disapprove the action of those already 
in office. Without its approval no ordinance or resolution 
went into effect and no bill could be paid. The board was to 
have no patronage and no pay. One member was to be 



8 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

elected and one to retire each year and the term of office 
was to be three years. 

February 10, 1870, Mr Kernan was chosen a member of 
the board of regents. Of his faithful and efficient services 
here it is unnecessary for me to speak. They are known to 
all his colleagues. He attended its meetings with the 
greatest regularity as long as his health allowed and ren- 
dered cheerful and valuable services upon the most import- 
ant committees. 

In the convention of 1 871 Mr Kernan took a prominent 
part in excluding from the convention those democrats who 
were tainted by suspicion or apologizing for the corrupt. 
He stood manfully for party purity and reform. 

Democracy was with him synonymous with devotion to 
his country, and those who assumed the garb of democracy 
to carry out selfish and wrongful schemes, encountered his 
courageous and persistent opposition. 

He gave the first enthusiastic and cordial support which 
Samuel J. Tilden received, to the movement in the demo- 
cratic party against the Tweed ring, and was recognized as 
Tilden's ablest ally. Mr Tilden has given most emphatic 
testimony to Mr Kernan's efficient services in destroying 
the Tweed ring. Mr Tilden once said : " The discovery of 
frauds by certain city officials happened just as I was about 
to leave the city to spend a week in the country. On the 
eve of my departure I had the opportunity of cross-examin- 
ing a gentleman who had the confidence of the financial 
men and the tax payers of this city, and who called on me 
with a letter from a distinguished philanthropist (Peter 
Cooper). I became satisfied that the revelations were sub- 
stantially true. My week's reflections in the country re- 
sulted in a determination to attempt to carry out that sys- 
tem of measures in which I have ever since been engaged. 
But some cooperation was indispensable. The first man 1 
sought was Francis Kernan. After much telegraphing I 
found him attending court in Albany. I went there to 



FRANCIS KERNAN 



meet him. It was the 4th day of August, 1871. He was 
about to leave for the seashore to attend a sick relative. I 
gave him the documents. I submitted to him my views as 
to what ought to be done, and arranged for a further con- 
ference. On that occasion he gave me assurances of his 
full and cordial cooperation, which I ever afterward received. 
He was to me the one necessary man for a contest in the 
state convention. His courage, his independence, his tact 
and eloquence in debate, his popularity and the weight of 
his character were all I needed. I next sought Charles 
O'Conor." 

It is evident that without Mr Kernan's assistance, Mr 
Tilden could not have made the movement a success. 

His position in 1871 made him the logical candidate for 
governor in 1872. In the following year, therefore, he was 
nominated for governor of the state of New York by the 
democrats and liberals at Syracuse. It was a disastrous 
year for the democrats. Horace Greeley was the candidate 
for the presidency and a large portion of the democratic 
party could not bring itself to vote for him. The state gave 
a republican majority of over 53,000, but the vote of Dix 
over Kernan was less than that of Grant over Greeley. 

I n 1 8 75 the democrats had gained control of the legislature. 
A senator was to be chosen to succeed Reuben E. Fenton. 
Horatio Seymour and Francis Kernan were the most dis- 
tinguished men of that party. Seymour declined to be con- 
sidered a candidate and said that he thought the honor be- 
longed to Francis Kernan. That was the practically unani- 
mous sentiment of the democrats throughout the state, and 
in January, 1875, Mr Kernan was chosen by the democratic 
caucus for the position and subsequently elected. Roscoe 
Conkling was his colleague in the senate for the next six 
years. 

Possessing strong convictions Mr Kernan took high 
grounds on all the important issues presented to the senate. 
He was the uncompromising advocate of honest money, and 
2 



IO UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

in the debate on the Bland silver bill he took side with 
those opposed to its passage. Deprecating passion or pre- 
judice in deciding on the measure, he declared that a 90- 
cent dollar and the fluctuating silver standard of the cur- 
rency would stain the public honor of the nation, and while 
injuring all, would bear with greater weight upon the poor. 
He stated that he was in favor of gold and silver currency cir- 
culating together, but as long as silver was depreciated below 
gold it would drive the gold dollar from use. In his opinion, 
the practical effect of the passage of the bill would be to 
demonetize gold in case the silver did not rise to par. He 
had no faith, he said, that silver would rise to par with gold 
as soon as it should be remonetized. He was in favor of 
making a silver dollar worth more intrinsically. 

On the resignation of Judge Thurman, Mr Kernan be- 
came a member of the famous electoral commission in the 
Hayes-Tilden case, but not until after the whole contest had 
been virtually decided by declaring the vote of South Caro- 
lina. When the question came up in the senate, to ratify 
the report of the electoral commission, Mr Kernan made a 
forcible speech against such action. 

He said the senate should not affirm the decision made by 
the commission. " The decision is to the effect that there 
is no power in congress to obtain the truth and smite down 
fraud. I solemnly protest against it, and I do so from a 
higher motive than for the success of any man or any 
political party. I do not want it to go into the world with- 
out protest, that a false and fabricated certificate is to be 
counted, and I am deeply pained that such a principle should 
have been affirmed by a vote of eight to seven." 

In July, 1876, Senator Kernan, at the St Louis conven- 
tion, in an earnest, dignified and graceful speech nominated 
Samuel J. Tilden for the presidency and subsequently in the 
campaign of that year rendered important service. 

In the convention of 1884, held at Chicago, Mr Kernan 
was not a delegate, but he was present and was one of the 



FRANCIS KERNAN II 

most efficient advocates, outside of the convention, for the 
nomination of Grover Cleveland. In that year he also 
rendered valuable services to his party on the stump. 

In 1888 his age forbade him to take active part in the 
contest. He addressed meetings in Uticaand vicinity only. 

In the last state campaign he was not strong enough to 
make speeches, but he gave an interview telling his reasons 
why the democratic candidate should be elected. 

Mr Kernan was a manager of the New York state lunatic 
asylum at Utica for several years and resigned when chosen 
senator. He was elected a school commissioner in 1843 and 
served for 20 years. He was chosen as the representa- 
tive of Georgetown college to the Roman catholic congress 
in Baltimore in 1889. 

Mr Kernan won merited distinction at a bar, which, dur- 
ing the active portion of his professional life, was one of the 
most illustrious in the state. Among his competitors were: 
Hiram Denio as long as he remained an advocate at the 
bar who, subsequently wearing the spotless ermine of the 
upright judge with honor and renown, for 12 years oc- 
cupied a seat upon the bench of the court of last resort, 
and whose " decisions are received as law throughout the 
continent of America and quoted with respect in West- 
minster hall; " Charles H. Doolittle, whose unremitting de- 
votion to duty, untiring industry and keenly analytic in- 
tellect made him not only a successful advocate but an or- 
nament to the bench ; Ward Hunt, while an advocate at 
the bar, on account of the integrity of his character, his 
sound common sense and his dignified and courteous bear- 
ing, at once highly esteemed by his professional brethren 
and influential with the court, and who, later, as justice of 
the supreme court of the United States adorned the bench 
of the, perhaps, most distinguished legal tribunal in the 
world; Samuel Beardsley, that great lawyer and jurist, whose 
erect and stalwart form, so emblematical of his character, 
now rises before me with peculiar pleasure in all its rugged- 



12 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

ness and dignity ; Roscoe Conkling, the advocate of match- 
less eloquence and exhaustless fertility of resource, against 
whom Mr Kernan, both at the bar and in the forum of the 
nation, as a leader of a great political party, was continually 
pitted in intellectual contests, which, however great their 
severity, never ruptured the warm personal friendship which 
existed between them (it is pleasant to relate that on the 
occasion of a public reception tendered to Senator Conk- 
ling on his return from Europe in 1877, Mr Kernan de- 
livered the welcoming address); William J. Bacon, the up- 
right judge and the scholarly and accomplished man of let- 
ters; Joshua A. Spencer, the perhaps unequalled jury ad- 
vocate, of whom Roscoe Conkling said, " I can not express 
my indebtedness to him. Whatever success I may have 
had in life I owe in a great measure to Mr Spencer." 

Such was the array of legal talent with which, during his 
professional life, Mr Kernan was called to cope, and it is 
the unanimous judgment of the bar, that amid this galaxy 
of illustrious men, he was always par inter primos, — equal 
among the greatest. 

The speaker believes that it was Mr Kernan's highest 
ambition to excel in his profession, and to attain a thorough 
understanding and complete mastery of legal science. To 
this end, with singleness of purpose, he devoted the untir- 
ing industry and energy of his life. 

As a lawyer Mr Kernan was cultivated, public spirited 
and conscientious. " The capacity for the display of great 
intellectual tact, ability and learning, in presenting and ad- 
vocating the interest of the client, is largely based upon the 
hours of labor and study out of the court room." No one 
appreciated or carried out this idea more faithfully than he. 
He had in a preeminent degree the faculty of work, that 
patient application which is not only a mark of ability but 
also the surest pledge of success. He knew that no pro- 
fessional man could attain the rewards and enjoy the high- 
est honors of his calling, except by; earnest and patient toil, 



FRANCIS KERNAN 1 3 

profound thought and continual application to his studies 
and his duties. He had in large degree the power of con- 
centration, and fixing his attention upon a subject he held 
it with an iron grasp until he had fully solved the problem 
under consideration. 

Mr Kernan had a logical mind with unusual powers of 
statement and analysis, united with rare gifts of eloquence 
and persuasion. In marshaling the facts and ideas which 
were to furnish the solution of his case, and grouping them 
in orderly and legal relations, he was a consummate master. 

In the examination of witnesses he displayed rare knowl- 
edge of human nature. Treating them kindly and courte- 
ously, he restrained the forward, he gently led the unwill- 
ing, encouraged the timid, and so involved the deceitful wit- 
ness in a web of his own falsehoods that he compelled him 
to strengthen the very case which he had endeavored to de- 
feat. 

His language as well as his bearing toward the jury were 
such as to create the belief that he was absolutely honest 
and sincere. 

He treated the court with uniform respect and seemed 
only desirous that it should comprehend his views and re- 
ceive fitting impression from their statement, and the judges, 
reciprocating the regard which he showed for them, ex- 
amined with care the cases which he cited, because they im- 
plicitly believed in him, on account of the candor and fair- 
ness with which he presented his points. 

His kindness and cordiality toward the younger members 
of the profession were proverbial. Says one of the prominent 
members of the Oneida bar, " The younger men who came 
to him for advice and counsel always found him ready and 
willing to assist them, and those who chanced to be opposed 
to him in court remember with gratitude the kindly manner 
with which he treated them." 

While a member of the senate Mr Kernan's course was 
marked by that spirit of liberality, conjoined with wise con- 



14 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

servatism, which should ever be characteristic of the states- 
man. His evident determination to exert himself for the 
welfare of the whole country, as well as of the great state 
which he represented, as shown by the broadness and jus- 
tice of his views, secured for him the respect of every sec- 
tion and of men of the most widely divergent political opin- 
ions. 

Faithful in the discharge of every duty of his position, he 
was constant in his attendance upon the sessions of the sen- 
ate, and as a member of the various committees he was 
thorough and painstaking in all matters referred to them. 

His genial nature and urbanity of manner gained the 
good will of his colleagues, while his integrity, fidelity and 
eminent abilities secured their confidence and respect, and 
they willingly accorded to him great influence in their de- 
liberations and actions. 

Mr Kernan ranked among the most distinguished members 
of the senate, and the record that he made is one of which 
the state, which honored itself by placing him there, may 
well be proud. 

From the beginning to the close of his public life Mr 
Kernan was a democrat and at an early age became promi- 
nent in the councils of that party. A democrat, he was, 
however, still a patriot, and when secession raised its hydra- 
head he at once became one of the staunchest supporters of 
the national government in its efforts to maintain the in- 
tegrity of the Union. 

Mr Kernan was a gentleman, but not the pseudo-gentle- 
man of Chesterfield, — the counterfeit, built from without, in- 
ward. His gentlemanly character was built from within, 
outward. Of him it might be said with Polonius, " The ap- 
parel oft proclaims the man." As described in the words 
of another, " He never appeared to have taken pains with 
his clothes, but on all occasions, he looked as if it were per- 
fectly natural that he should be dressed like a gentleman." 
Possessed of pure and elevated sentiments, his manners 



FRANCIS KERNAN 15 

were their natural outcome. The heart of man speaks 
from the tongue. Manners and bearing are always the re- 
sults of habitual feelings. The man of base thoughts will 
betray the absence of nobility of soul, no matter what the 
polished schools in which he may have been educated. 
The proudest lineage will not insure the descendant of an 
hundred earls against coarseness and foulness of nature and 
their infallible outward manifestations. 

Replete with humor and anecdote, he was scrupulously 
considerate of the feelings of others. Bright and cheerful 
of disposition, he was yet earnest and free from levity. 
To an unusual sweetness and uniformity of temper, which 
no disappointment could disturb and no injury could 
change, he added a rare grace and urbanity of manner, and 
charming felicity in social intercourse. These delightful 
amenities of character made him a most agreeable companion 
in all the circles in which he moved. While he was a good 
talker he was also a good listener, and had the happy faculty 
of putting all those with whom he conversed at ease with 
themselves. The wit and wisdom of his conversation gave 
added charms to the generous and unaffected hospitality of 
the home of one who may truly be said to have been a gentle- 
man of the old school. He had an innate love of the can- 
did, the manly and the real, and an instinctive dislike of the 
affected and the false. Detesting display and pretension he 
shrunk from notoriety. No respecter of wealth, rank, or 
station, he gave to the humblest applicant for his attention 
the same thoughtful consideration which he accorded to men 
of wealth and position. 

Regent Kernan was a Christian. A plain, simple, devout 
and consistent Roman catholic, he knelt reverently at the 
altar of his church to receive the sacrament of her faith. He 
had no intolerance in his nature. Confident as to what he 
believed, while respecting the piety of all other good Chris- 
tians, he never sacrificed a jot or tittle of his own. 

In all his public relations Mr Kernan was free from the 



l6 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

least touch of sectarian bias. Throughout his public career 
he retained his fealty to his conscience and performed no 
act unworthy of his manhood, and at its close, came back to 
his fellow citizens, as he had gone from among them, with 
"clean hands and a pure heart" and quietly resumed the 
practice of his profession. 

To great legal learning he added those accomplishments 
of mind and manner that gave him the same prominence in 
private life that he attained at the bar, on the rostrum and 
in the halls of congress. 

As a statesman and a lawyer Mr Kernan stood in the 
front rank of his contemporaries. He was a democrat of 
the type of Thurman and Bayard of the present, and 
William L. Marcy and Silas Wright of an earlier generation, 
and, like his life-long friend Horatio Seymour, the model of 
a Christian gentleman. The fact that he was so often chosen 
as the presiding officer of the various conventions and com- 
missions with which he was associated, emphatically pro- 
claimed his ability for leadership. 

The bench and the bar have given utterance to the state- 
ment that in forensic struggles he was ever an honorable 
opponent, and that when connected with him in professional 
relations they could rely upon his advice and assistance as 
an able, faithful and efficient advocate and friend. 

In the rancor of partisan strife his religious views were 
ruthlessly assailed, but during his whole public life no breath 
of suspicion was ever cast upon the purity of his motives, 
the uprightness of his character or the integrity of his 
action, in the discharge of the high trusts confided to him. 
Few men have attracted as large a measure of public atten- 
tion, and maintained for an equal period of time such a 
measure of professional and political distinction. An 
earnest partisan he yet retained the confidence and respect 
of friend and foe. 

Few men have been as happy in the evening of their 
lives. At the last meeting of this board which he attended, 



FRANCIS KERNAN I J 

it seemed difficult to realize that he had passed his three 
score years and ten. Advancing years had shed the warm 
tints of autumn upon his life, and the frosts of many winters 
had not chilled his heart. 

Estimated by the abilities he possessed, the honors he 
had achieved and the blamelessness of his life, at the time 
of his decease he was the first citizen of the community in 
which he lived. 

Is it to be wondered at that from city, town, village and 
hamlet of this great state, there should have come up the 
voice of sorrow and regret at his decease ? 

In his death, New York lost one of her most eminent citi- 
zens, and the country one who has rendered it high and dis- 
tinguished service. 

He was one of a company of great and good men, illus- 
trious in their generation, whose talents, character and 
labors were the strength and glory of the commonwealth in 
which they lived and are now embalmed among its choicest 
memories. 

The fair, central city of the state in which he resided, has 
been rich in illustrious men. As I speak their forms arise 
to my view, their gathered presence seems to move before 
me again, a noble procession as I have often beheld them 
in by-gone years. Some of them have been previously men- 
tioned in this address. In this splendid group and con- 
spicuous by their character and talents, as well as by the 
lofty public positions they adorned, is a trio of men, whom 
it were difficult to match throughout the length and breadth 
of this imperial state — Kernan, Seymour and Conkling; all 
of whom, men of rare gifts and great intellectual attain- 
ments, have left deep impress, not only upon the community 
in which they lived but also upon the state whose highest, 
proudest commissions they ever bore unsullied by any un- 
worthy act. 

In closing this sketch of Regent Kernan may we not ap- 
propriately quote the words of Judge Story on another oc- 
casion: 

3 



1 8 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

" We dwell with pleasure upon the entirety of a life 
adorned by consistent principles, and filled up in the dis- 
charge of virtuous duty, where there is nothing to regret 
and nothing to conceal; no friendships broken; no confi- 
dence betrayed; no timid surrender to popular clamor; no 
eager reaches for popular favor." 






*<* 



LB N 10 



